Official for Bellator 282: Mousasi vs Eblen

Bellator MMA will return to Mohegan Sun for Bellator 282 where Gegard Mousasi will have to defend his middleweight title against the next number one contender in the Bellator MMA rankings, Johnny Eblen. The match seemingly targeted for May will be happening June 24 according to Bellator MMA’s recent press release.

Eblen is yet another undefeated middleweight looking to keep their ‘0’ intact while winning a middleweight title in the process. He is coming off a decisive victory against John Salter that put him next in line to face Mousasi, who has not lost since winning the vacant title back at Bellator 250 in 2020.

Eblen, who has used the moniker, “The Human Cheat Code,” has the chance to prove the name true if he beats Mousasi who handed Austin Vanderford his first loss after being undefeated on his way to the “The Dreamcatcher.” Mousasi is currently on a four-fight win streak with two of those being title defenses against anyone Bellator’s ranking deems worthy of a title shot.

If there is a cheat code to beat the champ, Eblen might have it with five of his eleven wins coming by way of decision. Of Mousasi’s seven losses, three have been by decision and three by knock out which encompass almost the other half of Eblen’s wins. It should make for a great fight.

With two of the Bantamweight Grand Prix bouts scheduled for the main card, Bellator 282 should be a good bit of fun for the promotion’s return to The Mohegan Sun Arena in June. Bellator 282 will air on Friday night, June 24 on SHOWTIME, see the currently announced bouts listed below with start times and where to watch:

BELLATOR 282: MOUSASI VS. EBLEN MAIN CARD: Friday, June 24 – live on SHOWTIME
9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT

Middleweight World Championship Main Event: C-Gegard Mousasi (49-7-2) vs. No. 1-Johnny Eblen (11-0)

Bantamweight World Grand Prix: No. 4-Magomed Magomedov (18-2-0) vs. Enrique Barzola or Josh Hill

Bantamweight World Grand Prix: No. 6-Leandro Higo (21-5-0) vs. Jornel Lugo or Danny Sabatello

BELLATOR 282: MOUSASI VS. EBLEN PRELIMINARY CARD: BELLATOR MMA YouTube channel | SHOWTIME Sports YouTube channel | Pluto TV 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT

Flyweight Bout: No. 5-Alejandra Lara (9-5) vs. Ilara Joanne (9-6)

Edward Carbajal

Edward holds a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Bachelor's degree in Communications. Along with over 30 years of martial arts experience, he co-hosts The Coast-2-Coast Combat Hour podcast, and also writes for Spectation Sports. You can follow him on Twitter @Carbazel

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